University of Peshawar high fee worried many

Parents worried as schools on varsity campus increase fees manifold
Peshawar: The semi-government schools affiliated with different
universities on the University Campus Peshawar have increased their
fees manifold, creating problems for the parents.

Sources said that the idea behind the establishment of the University Model
School for Girls, University Public School, Islamia Collegiate School
and other semi-government institutions on the campus was to provide
quality education on reasonable charges to the people of the
surrounding areas who had donated spacious land for establishment of
the unique campus in the country.

But the admission and
tuition fees and other charges have now surged to the level of the most
expensive private sector schools, the parents complained. The initial
charges for admitting a student in the University Model School are over
Rs35,000 inclusive of admission and annual tuition fee. The school also
charges students extra Rs8,000 per year under the head of transport
charges, a facility that is provided to the kids of varsity employees
for just Rs200 a month, the sources said.

Charges of the
University of Peshawar-run University Public School (UPS) are even
higher, the sources said, adding that a student has to pay Rs40,000 per
year to get educated at this prestigious institution. The boarding
students are, however, required to pay around Rs130,000 per year, they
added.

Yearly promotion charges at the institutions affiliated
with NWFP Agricultural University are Rs5,000, while monthly tuition
fee there is Rs600, the sources said. Initial admission fee there too
is much higher, they maintained.

The Islamia College
University-affiliate Islamia Collegiate School has been charging
students Rs10,900 per year from Grade V to VIII and Rs11,500 for the
higher classes. Those admitted on self-finance basis have to pay
Rs25,000 per year and the boarders are required to pay Rs5,500 extra
charges per month, the sources added.

Parents are of the
opinion that it had become almost impossible for them to continue the
studies of their kids in these institutions. They have been demanding
of the schools' administration and universities' head to look into the
matter and lower the fees, but to no avail.

Heads of several
of these schools when reached by telephone negated the notion that
their charges were as high as those of the private sector institutions.
They were of the opinion that they were not concerned with the fee
structure and had to follow the university's directives.

The
administration of the University of Peshawar on the other hand declared
that due to huge cut in the grant to the university and lack of support
by the government, they were not in a position to lower the charges of
the schools being run by them.

"The previous government had
promised to provide special grant to the university to provide cheaper
education to the students of these schools. But the promise could not
be materialised," an official of the university said. He stressed that
the government should provide assistance to the university to enable it
reduce the fees of these institutions. The news

Schools' security tightened after threats
Peshawar: Security fears prevail at schools everywhere across NWFP
after as attacks by militants on schools are continuing despite
military operations since May last year.

Private educational institutions have tightened their security once
again after the bomb blast near Police Public School on Monday in which
one school student was killed and nine others wounded. It is reported
that some schools of the provincial capital had received threats in
recent past and the incident of blowing up school in City's outskirt
was seemed the result of these threats. It is further reported that
Education Department had directed all 'A' and 'B Class public and
private schools of the City to enhance security measure to avert any
untoward incident.

The source of private schools association has said the government had
also directed principals / heads to remain vigilant and not to allow
vehicles near school and college buildings.

He said a security plan had been devised for private educational
institutions, under which all the students would not be allowed to come
out at once as the school closes. The sources in Education Department
revealed that the government has planned to take stern action for
security lapses in the private schools. Many schools have reported
installed CCTV cameras at the gates and buildings of private schools
for security reasons and hired private security guards. Meanwhile,
efforts are under way to revive the education system in areas affected
by fighting between security forces and militants. It is to mention
here that several schools had been blown up in the recent past in
provincial capital and in its surroundings in the terrorist attacks
earlier; however the reconstruction cannot be started yet. Number of
schools were destroyed in Khyber Agency special in its Bara tehsil
where particularly girl schools were been targeted. A government report
on July 24, 2009 reveals that around 60 percent of schools in Swat have
been destroyed by militants over the past two years. It is also
reported that provincial government has directed municipal
administration of provincial metropolis to take immediate steps against
illegal encroachments near all governmenty and private schools and
demolish all kind of such encroachments. It is further directed that
schools administrations were also asked to remove push-carts and vedors
standing outside of their schools to avert any possible miscreant
activity.

Moreover, the security of provincial capital has further enhanced and
additional check posts were set up in various areas of the City. The
entry and exit points of the city are strictly covered by the police
and security forces and each and every vehicle was checked by the
police.

The security measure have however created fear and panic in the city
and people were reluctent to go outside for shopping and other
necessary work which also bady affected the business activities in th
markets. F.P report

Bone Bank set up at SMC
Karachi: The Sindh Medical College (SMC), an affiliated
institution of the Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) has
established a "Bone Bank," with as many as 35 sets of complete human
skeletons made available to students aspiring to study bones.

DUHS
Pro Vice-Chancellor and SMC Principal Prof. Tariq Aziz said that the
bone bank would help students to acquire artificial but high-quality
bones for research and study purposes.

"Students can now get these bones issued in their name, similar to how they issue books from a library," he said.

Prof.
Aziz added that a need for this bone bank was being felt since long, as
students faced a number of difficulties in acquiring bones for study
purposes.

K'architecture launched at IVSAA
Karachi: K'architecture, a coffee-table book featuring seven photo
essays on Karachi and architecture was launched on Thursday at the
Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture. The book features
photographs by Tapu Javeri, Arif Mahmood, Farah Mahbub, Izdeyar Setna,
Farzad Bagheri, Fareena Chanda and Amean J.

The book is a
collaborated production of Black Olive Publication and the Institute of
Architects of Pakistan, and it was edited and complied by Arshad
Faruqui and Amean.

Mahbub's pictures feature the city's
once-majestic colonial-era buildings. Shot in glorious black and white,
the buildings seem to pop out at the viewer. According to her, the book
documents and tries to preserve the wonderful architecture of Karachi
that is fading away day by day. She said all the photographers were
given the freedom to shoot whatever they wanted either in colour or
black and white.

On the other hand, Amean's pictures focused on
the mausoleum of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah in a series titled
"Unity, Faith and Discipline". According to him, he chose the mausoleum
because it was the biggest and most beautiful landmark in the city.

Mahmood
concentrated on Soldier Bazaar. According to him, there was a time when
the bazaar was where the city ended and it got its name due to the
British cantonments' soldiers who used to shop there. His picture
titled "Soldier Bazaar VI" featuring a dog lying on a floor stained by
Holi colours was a huge favourite with the public.

However,
Javeri had a different view and said it was an amazing experience, but
distressing at the same time, as the city no longer had any civic
pride. His pictures featured historic buildings from MA Jinnah Road,
Kharadar, Jodia Bazaar, Burns Road and Khori Garden. Setna focused on
the fading Parsi settlements in the city and Chanda photographed the
present conditions of the buildings of Karachi that used to be
magnificent, but are now dilapidated and reduced to storing trash.

In
contrast to the rest, Bagheri took a different approach by
photographing the beautifully built modern houses designed and owned by
the famous architects Najeeb Omar, Faruqui, Ezaj Ahed, Tariq Hasan and
a host of other people. Daily times